This is basically how I feel right now toward the people who take care of licensing. I really really really wanted to have the photobook available for Christmas, but obviously it’s too late now. I’ve even told them I just want the one license now for one song – hoping that would speed things up. But no. It’s still been nearly 2 months. Dan angry!

I was in the mood to take a few photos, so I did. They’ll be popping up this week.

Despite all the ridiculous things we face daily as teachers, whether from parents, kids, the public, or administration, there are certain things that make it all worthwhile. My grandma died suddenly last week and I had to go back to NY, leaving them for 4 days with a sub. I came back this week to a desk piled high with candy & chocolate, and a big stack of cards they made for me. The cards were hilarious and touching and amazing. Most of them brought a tear to my eye. These are the things that make me love what I do. And I wanted to share it with you. Here are some of my favorite cards:

Front – look at that amazing detail!

Inside – please read it. Please.

Card2Front – I love how all the letters in my name are something sciencey! The M mountains, the lightning L, though I’m concerned that my S is giving off some sort of smoke —-or foul odor? heh

Card 4I laughed because there’s always one student who has to give you a class update! haha

I have WALL*E stuff all over my classroom – and they obviously know I love LEGO. It’s amazing what kids can do, say, and feel, if you give them a chance to express themselves. I can’t thank them, and my team of teachers and school that let the kids do this for me. This is why I teach.

Like this:

So I just saw that the blog was featured on the GeekDad section of WIRED.com
Exciting!
This is the 2nd time GeekDad has featured a LEGO a Day – the first time was near the end of my first year of the project.

So, Hey! to all the people visiting from WIRED. Hope you enjoy the photos!

Check it out here.
Oh also, if you don’t subscribe to WIRED, you should. I do. And we all know how awesome I am, right?

Coming this September is a brand new book from the LEGO loving folks at DK Publishing: The LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia.

…and it’s pretty sweet.

The Character Encyclopedia comes with over 200 pages of information for every minifig in the series.
Taken from the from the table of contents:

“The book is divided into eight Star Wars sections – Episodes I – VI, the Clone Wars,
and the Expanded Universe. The minifigures are ordered according to the
Star Wars property in which they first appeared or mostly featured.”

There are all kinds of keys to follow on each page telling the reader if there are any variants to the minifig, while different versions of the same minifig are featured on their own page. It’s incredibly comprehensive.

Here’s a look inside. More of my review below the pics.

I must commend the folks at DK and LEGO for hitting the details hard. The book is lavishly colorful, with nice thick heavy pages, and a great hardcover. As you can also see it comes with an exclusive new minifig – in this case Han Solo from the throne room ceremony at the end of the original Star Wars.

The book is smaller in height than its predecessors (Star Wars Visual Dictionary / Harry Potter Magical World) so it is easier to fit snugly on a regular bookshelf.

Overall, I think this is another solid release from the combined efforts of LEGO and DK. With so many minifigs and sets to keep track of – and with so many collectors out there – here is a simple and effective way to keep track of your collection. Kids will love it because they can see all the figures they have, as well as read all about them – and adults will love it because – well, probably for all the same reasons your kids will love it. Also, if you’re like me you like to display cool stuff. File this book in that section.

Awesome work everyone. We had tons of entries, and tons of excellent photos.
I love that so many kids got in the game as well – coming up with ideas or even taking the photos themselves. We could only pick 4 winners, but everyone did great! It was hard to narrow it down to just 4. There were some great funny captions, some fun ideas, and some great builds. Even if you didn’t win this contest, keep taking photos! I hope we can keep so many bright minds interested in the field of photography.

And now on to the winners!

The three runner up prizes go to the following (in no particular order):

“The Claw!”“I have been chosen!”
by Buzz Droid

“Ice Fishing”It must be my lucky day!
by Kim & Ben Ackerman

“Belly Flop”by alinraz

I will be sending each of you an email. Rank the 3 runner up prizes from 1-3 and depending on who emails me first, I’ll try to get you the one you want the most. Please also make sure you include your shipping address so I can forward that to the folks at DK Publishing.

And the GRAND PRIZE winner is………

…no one of consequence.

by Nathalie

“You seem a decent follow. I hate to kill you.”
“You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die.”

I LOVE The Princess Bride!

Congratulations everyone. And thank you everyone for participating. We got a lot more photos than I was expecting (but always hoping!).

Keep checking back here on a weekly basis. I’ve got a sneak peak at an upcoming LEGO book from DK coming out next month, and who knows when they’ll ask me to do more contests. I also still plan on picking up the camera every so often and doing a few photos. So, don’t abandon me completely LoL.

All alone or in twosThe ones who really love youWalk up and down outside the wall.Some hand in hand.Some gathered together in bands.The bleeding hearts and the artistsMake their stand.And when they’ve given you their allSome stagger and fallAfter all it’s not easyBanging your heart Against some mad bugger’s wall.

———————————————————–

Thank you to everyone for making this year even bigger than the first. Thanks to all of you who submitted suggestions,
bought prints, left comments, and participated in the contests. Special thanks to David, Mona, Sandra, Monica, & Don,
whose donations made it possible to purchase the box of bricks to complete this last photo. You all made it a hell of a lot of fun
once again to spend and entire year consumed by LEGO. Not that that’s a horrible thing…

As always, thank you to my loving wife for support, help, and understanding. I heart you.
Prints will remain available, and I will be updating the store with some more recent pics. If there isn’t one on there that
you’d like, just drop me a comment or an email.

2012 calendars will be available on my RedBubble site probably starting sometime in November.

Stay tuned to the blog here for upcoming contests, and more photos. I’m going to take a little break
for a while, and then probably start doing weekly(ish) photos again. After coming up with 730 ideas
my mind is a little tapped right now. Ha!

Thank you, again. Your enjoyment of this project made me see it through…again.
Make sure you watch the video linked above.
Best wishes,
~Dan